Anchor well



Oct. 8, 1963 E. J. DARE 3,106,181

' ANCHOR WELL Filed July 17, 1962 Illl I lmiii" mm".

United States Patent Ofifice Patented Oct. 8, 1963 3,196,181 ANCHOR WELLEarl .1. Dare, Stuart, Fla, assignor to Colombian Bronze Corporation,Freeport, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed July 17, 1%2, Ser. No.210,432 4 Claims. (Cl. 11421 3) This invention relates broadly to thenautical field, and in its more specific aspects it relates to theprovision of means on a vessel for storing an anchor when it is not inuse; and the nature and objects of the invention will be readilyrecognized and understood by those skilled in the art to which itrelates in the light of the following explanation and detaileddescription of the accompanying drawings illustrating what I at presentbelieve to be the preferred embodiment or mechanical expressions of myinvention from among various other forms, arrangements, combinations andconstructions of which the invention is capable within the spirit andscope thereof.

It is conventional practice on many marine vessels to merely leave theanchor on the deck of the vessel when not in use, and if necessary tosecure it in place on the deck in some makeshift manner, so that it willbe made fast in the event of rough weather and consequent rolling of thevessel.

It will be appreciated by anyone familiar with marine vessels that thisconventional manner of taking care of the anchor when it is on thevessel and not in use is subject to many disadvantages, some of whichare suflicient- 1y serious to endanger the well-being not only ofpersons aboard the vessel, but also the safety of the vessel itself.

In the first place, with the anchor resting on and lashed to the deck,it will be recognized that it constitutes a real hazard to thepassengers and crew, for it is in the open where it may easily betripped over and/or fallen upon, and if it breaks loose, it can causeinjuries to passengers and crew as well as damage to the vessel andequipment thereon.

With the anchor supported on the deck of a vessel it is necessary touserope pipe and anchor chocks so that the anchor is not at all times readyfor quick use, since the anchor must be released from these mountingmeans before it can be let go into the water.

Anchors which are mounted on the deck also provide a snare in whichlines, mops and the like will catch and become entangled. They take upspace which could be used for sunning and other shipboard pastimes, andin other ways the deck mounting of anchors is not desirable.

I have devised a unique well in which a vessels anchor is stored when itis not in use and in developing this anchor well it has been one of myobjects to overcome and eliminate the objectionable features mentionedabove, and others, and to provide certain positive advantages resultingfrom my construction and design of anchor well.

This invention involves a housing for the anchor which is formed in thedeck of the vessel and extends therebelow, the anchor being supported inthis well by a unique and ingenious arrangement.

Not only does my construction provide a support or suspension means forthe anchor, but it also provides means to prevent relative movementbetween components of the anchor which movement would cause undesirablenoises and possible damage to the anchor. This lastnarned means isautomatically operative upon insertion of the anchor into its housedposition within the anchor well.

This anchor well which I have evolved puts the anchor off the deck andthereby eliminates the dangers and inconveniences pointed out abovewhich are inherent in the deck storage of anchors.

The construction and arrangement of this anchor well expedites and makesthe act of anchor storage easy, and the anchor is always ready for usemerely by raising the anchor from the well. The necessity for anchorchocks, ropes, etc., for securing the anchor in place is eliminated,thereby greatly reducing the time required for storing the anchor andfor removing it from the well.

The anchor well which I have devised is easily and inexpensivelyinstalled in vessels; requiresno upkeep; and functions not solely as ananchor storage means, but also as a ventilating means for the forepeakand the rope locker of the vessel.

With the foregoing general objects, features and results in View, aswell as certain others which will be apparent from the followingexplanation, the invention consists in certain novel features in design,construction, mounting and combination of elements, as will be morefully and particularly referred to and specified hereinafter.

Referringto the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of the anchor well, with an anchorhoused therein.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the anchor well.

FIG. 3 is a view taken on line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view taken on line 44 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the anchor well.

The accompanying drawings are illustrative of my anchor well which isdesignated in its entirety by the reference numeral 1, and comprises agenerally rectangular frame consisting of side walls 3' connected by endwalls 5 providing a generally rigid structure. I provide a continuousflange 7 which extends outwardly from the side walls 3' and end walls 5of the frame. The flange, 'as will be explained, functions as a mountingflange, and is preferably formed on the side and'end walls adjacent tobut downwardly spaced from the top edges 9 0f the side and' A link 17 ispivotally fixed at one end to an end wall. 5 as at 19, and at its otherend is pivotally connected, as

at 21, to a similar link 23' which is pivotally fixed as at 25 to thedepending skirt 15 of cover 11. The pair of links act as a locking hingeto hold the cover in open position when the links are aligned as shownin FIG. 5 of the drawings. Any suitable type of means may be employedfor holding the cover in closed position, such for instance, as the hasparrangement 24.

At each corner of the frame I provide supporting brackets 27 whichextend diagonally across said corners. The brackets are fixed in anysuitable manner to the bottom -or lower edges of the side and end walls3 and 5, respectively, and extend therebetween. While I have shown thebrackets 27 formed in generally triangular configuration, it is to beunderstood that they may take other shapes and still fall within thespirit and scope of my invention. However, the brackets must be spacedlyarranged to provide an unobstructed area within the frame for projection of the supported anchor therethrough.

Fixed to and extending from-each end wall is a straplike element 29, thelower ends of which are connected by means of a strap or 'bar 31, whichI shall term a shank support. Consideration of the drawings, andparticularly FIGS. 4 and 5 thereof, clearly shows that elements 29 andthe shank support bar 31 are removed to one side of the centerlongitudinal axis of the frame.

Thus the bar 311 is closer to one side wall 3 than to the other sidewall.

The anchor well unit which I have just described is preferably formed ofmetal of any suitable kind to provide a substantially rigid unit capableof performing the functions about to be described.

The anchor well is mounted in the deck of a vessel preferably in the bowportion thereof, the deck 33 being cut away to provide an opening onlyslightly larger than the external dimensions of the frame composed ofthe side and end walls .3 and 5, respectively, so that the anchor wellmay be inserted in the opening formed in the deck. When the unit isinserted in the said opening, the continuous mounting flange will reston the deck and support the anchor well unit in proper position. Theunit isfixed to the deck by means of screws or bolts 35 which extendthrough the flange and into the deck.

With the anchor =Well mounted in the deck of the vessel with the flange7 screwed, bolted or otherwise securely fastened to the deck, it will beseen that the shank support bar 31 will be extended into the forepeak orother part of the vessel below the deck, and with the cover 11 openedsuch part of the vessel will be ventilated, and with the cover closedthe opening in the deck will be closed.

In FIG. 1 of the drawings I disclose an anchor designated generally bythe numeral 35, supported in the well in stored position completely andfully removed from the undesirable on deck position.

As an example of one type of anchor, from among many types, which may bestored in the well, I have shown an anchor having a rectangular box orframe 37, between the ends of which a rod 39 fixedly extends. A shank 41is pivotally fixed to and extends from the rod 39, an anchor chain orrope 43 being connected to the end of the shank. A pair of fiukes 45 arefixed to rod 39 and extend therefrom, the shank 41 being movable betweenand relative to the fixed flukes.

The anchor is inserted into the well until the box 37 of the anchorrests on the supporting brackets 27 of the frame of the anchor well withthe fiukes and shank extended into theforepeak or other interior area ofthe vessel. As the anchor is inserted into the anchor well, the shank 41will follow the chain or anchor line 43 to an oil-center position sothat the shank support bar or rod 31 will extend between the shank andthe flukes, separating them and lifting the shank to prevent itsmovement relative to the flukes, thereby eliminating the possibility ofrattling and the like. With the anchor stored, as described, the covermay be closed and secured by means of the fastening device 24.

The frame of the well unit is shaped to conform With 4. the box or headportion of the anchor and is made slightly larger than the box so thatit may be inserted therein. It is to be understood that theconfiguration of the well frame is not necessarily as shown in thedrawings, but takes a shape complementary to the shape of the box orother means by which the anchor is supported in the well.

It will now be appreciated that the anchor well which I have evolvedattains the many advantages set forth above, and others, all of whichendow the invention with useful and desirable characteristics.

I claim:

1. An anchor well adapted to be mounted within an opening in the deck ofa vessel, comprising a frame composed of side and end Walls, meansprojecting rigidly from said frame and adapted to be fixed to the deckadjacent the opening therein for securing said anchor well in position,a plurality of separate spaced apart anchor supporting brackets fixed tosaid side and end Walls, and a bar for supporting the shank connected toand extending between said end walls in position below said end Walls.

2. An anchor well in accordance with claim 1 wherein said bar extendsbetween said end walls on a line removed from a center line extendedbetween said end walls.

3. An anchor well in accordance with claim 2, wherein said shank supportmeans comprises a bar fixed to and depending from each end wall and afurther bar fixed to and extending between the lower ends of the barswhich are fixed to the end walls.

4. An anchor well adapted to be mounted within an opening in the deck ofa vessel, comprising a frame of substantially rectangular shape, meansprojecting rigidly from said frame and adapted to be fixed to the deckadjacent the opening therein for securing said anchor well in position,a separate bracket fixed to and extended across each corner of the frameadjacent the lower end thereof, said brackets providing a support forthe anchor and being separate and spaced apart leaving a spacetherebetween for receiving the shank and flukes of the anchor, andclosure meanshingedly mounted on said first named means for closing theopening in the deck and covering the anchor well.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS556,892 Landsta Mar. 24, 1896 954,882 Powell Apr. 12, 1910 2,242,635Whittelsey May 20, 941 2,506,893 Rogers May 9, 1950 3,019,757 BaileyFeb. 6, 1962

1. AN ANCHOR WELL ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED WITHIN AN OPENING IN THE DECK OFA VESSEL, COMPRISING A FRAME COMPOSED OF SIDE AND END WALLS, MEANSPROJECTING RIGIDLY FROM SAID FRAME AND ADAPTED TO BE FIXED TO THE DECKADJACENT THE OPENING THEREIN FOR SECURING SAID ANCHOR WELL IN POSITION,A PLURALITY OF SEPARATE SPACED APART ANCHOR SUPPORTING BRACKEST FIXED TOSAID SIDE AND END WALLS, AND A BAR FOR SUPPORTING THE SHANK CONNECTED TOAND EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID END WALLS IN POSITION BELOW SAID END WALLS.